Additive laser excitation of giant nonlinear surface acoustic wave pulses

Pulsed lasers are routinely used to optically excite and detect ultrasounds in a broad frequency range, from megahertz to terahertz. Though well-established for decades, this technique of laser ultrasonics is constrained by the potential optical damage it may cause to the sample, resulting in the generation of relatively weak pressures, well below kilobars. This study introduces a methodology for the excitation of nondestructive shock waves, at a high repetition rate, limited only by the mechanical strength of the sample. This work establishes a way to repeatedly deliver high-amplitude strain pulses to samples of interest, facilitating the dynamical study of strain-induced phenomena.